Kates Kesler

JUNE 11, 2014

We recently completed a study for the CEO of a very well known, global sports-apparel brand company. He wanted to challenge his team, as part of the strategic talent review process, to think about whether or not the company’s organizational architecture was suited to its growth plan to double in size. Learning from Big Companies.

Apparel 82

Apparel Healthcare Enterprise Chemicals 82

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

For every company wrestling with evolutions in its strategy, success depends as much on matching the operating model to those evolutions as it does on the soundness of the strategy itself. But exactly how do today’s companies create or update an operating model to match adaptations or wholesale changes in strategy?

Strategy& 28

Strategy& Strategy Strategy Company 28

Kates Kesler

JANUARY 25, 2013

Organizational simplicity is great when the business is simple – when there are only a few products, serving a few markets (in one or two countries). But in a complex, multi-divisional company, managing brands across several products and geographies things get more complicated. And you have to get the right talent in the right jobs.

Apparel 56

Apparel Talent Productivity Report 56

Harvard Business

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

Innovation ranks fifth, after more-conventional concerns such as attracting and retaining top talent and the regulatory environment. This isn’t all that surprising given the level of innovation activity in these sectors, but directors operating in similarly disrupted sectors should take note.

Telecommunications 36

Telecommunications Survey Biotechnology Industry 36

Harvard Business

JULY 30, 2018

. “Any time you start something new like [an innovation initiative], that cuts across many areas, there’s a potential for people feeling like you’re in their backyard,” says Michael Britt, a senior vice president who heads the Energy Innovation Center at Southern Company, a major utility operator.

Company 53

Company Survey Apparel Culture 53

Harvard Business

JANUARY 5, 2018

But over and over again in our three decades of experience as talent development and retention specialists, we’ve seen that companies consistently overlook half of them. These are jobs in R&D, technology, and other areas vital to a firm’s strategic direction, product development, and process efficiency.

Talent 28

Talent McKinsey Apparel Sales 28

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 30, 2016

For our recent book we studied companies from a broad range of industries that operate this way, including Apple, CEMEX, Danaher, Haier, IKEA, Inditex (known for its Zara apparel business), Starbucks and many others. Starbucks applies its capabilities in talent management and distinctive retailing to everything it does.

Management 28

Management Apparel Industry Company 28